Garona Halforcen
Garona Halforcen is a half-orc assassin. Formerly an emissary of the Horde during the first invasion of Azeroth, she was the reluctant murderer of King Llane Wrynn. A tale of Orcs, Draenei and Humans... People have speculated long about what race Garona's non-orcish parent was. The general conclusion was that she was half human, as stated in the Warcraft I manual, though timeline retconning issues seemed to make that impossible. In the novel The Last Guardian, Garona states that when orcs look at her, they see only her "human" parts, and Medivh surmises that her homeland had "humans or near-humans"...while Khadgar wondered how much of her physical appearence was from her human heritage and how much from being female. Also, Garona tells in that she was forced through the portal along with laborers into Azeroth from Draenor", so it's highly speculated that she is half orc and half draenei. When the issue was brought up on the official forums, where Caydiem claimed that Garona was in fact half orc and half draenei. She made this plausible by stating that the draenei seen so far in the game had been mutated as Draenor was torn apart by portals and through their portal travels. When questioned about Caydiem's comments, Chris Metzen remained tight lipped, simply saying "You will just have to wait and see about her..." With the recent revelation of "true" draenei, and their Eredar-like forms, it's hard to believe - barring a reaction of her biology - that she is half-draenei, as she lacks their cranial features, leg structures, tail and hooves. However, in light of new information there seems to be some sort of comprimise available. There is a half-orc half-draenei blademaster NPC named Lantresor of the Blade, who can be found in screenshots of Jayne's on-going Burning Crusade beta adventures, chronicled in Unadulterated Awesomeness. His in-game model is a grey-colored orc. However it should also be noted that "Half-Orc" as a term used in the Warcraft D&D RPG always refers to Human/Orc Hybrids, and this definition is continued in the Horde Player's Guide, 2006. The Horde Player's Guide even makes reference to Garona being a half-orc(by its definition of half-orc). The book also clarifies that a hybrid of orc and draenei is called a half-draenei. Though later in the book it also points out that Garona's parentage is a mystery. The book points out that early on people had thought her to be half-human, however her age would make it seem impossible for a human and orc to have produced her as she was already a young woman at the time. However, she is not a half-draenei as her features do not match that of draenei, or any other known races. The horde's player's guide was "designed with extensive input from the creative minds behind Blizzard’s best-selling Warcraft computer game series."http://secure1.white-wolf.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=825 Timeline Retcons In warcraft's initial history as stated in the Warcraft I Manual, there was approximately 15 years between the time the first scouts entered Azeroth, and sacked the first village to the start of the First War. It was implied that Garona was born from the union of the first scouts with humans they took as slaves, during their initial raid (making her age during the start of the first war about 15). However later on Metzen removed 14 years from the timeline leaving only a year between the time the first scouts arrived, and when the first war began, making it impossible for Garona to have been created by human & orc union from facts as we understand them. Instead forcing Garona to have been born on Draenor years before, and come through the portal with the invading orcs. History Rise to Power Having travelled throughout all of Draenor, Garona was well-versed in the culture of the orcs, making her an invaluable asset to the Shadow Council. She was inducted into the warlock-controlled Stormreaver Clan. She quickly became the Chief Interpreter of the Shadow Council, and Gul'dan's personal spy and assassin. However, Garona admits to having no true allegiance to any certain clan. Due to her mixed blood, she was eternally an outcast, and had to rely upon her wits to keep her alive in the harsh world. Upon arriving in Azeroth, Garona's experience lent a great deal to her insight with their newest foe - the humans. The Emissary Originally, she was a member of one of the first raiding parties into Azeroth, and also one of the few to confront the Guardian Medivh. While her party was wiped out, she was spared, and sent back to relay a message to the warlock Gul'dan. After a period of time, she returned, and met with the Magus on many occasions. Eventually, she was granted the title of Emissary, and sent to Karazhan. It was in there that she met Khadgar, Medivh's apprentice (and observer from Dalaran). Khadgar was, at first, furious at her presence, but the Magus demanded Khadgar treat her with respect. A trust was formed between the two when a bizarre demon appeared in the library of the great tower, and both utilized their skills in defeating it. Garona and Khadgar continually criticized the other's race, and defended their own to each other. Eventually, Garona mentioned to Khadgar that the orcs had been arriving on Azeroth via a gateway known as the Dark Portal. Garona also began to respect the magus Medivh a great deal, and because of that respect, she started to debate her true loyalties. Stating that the "Old Man" had told her everything she wanted to know, despite knowing full well that she was a spy, she felt that she could never break that trust. She even made the comment that the bond of trust made her feel more 'human', and that she felt Medivh had a grand dream to bring something better to this world. Battle with Medivh Because of Medivh's recently bizarre behavior, Khadgar and Garona felt it necessary to investigate, and uncover if there was a connection between the sudden arrival of the orcs and Medivh's behavior. Using a spell to call forth a vision of the past, Khadgar and Garona discovered that Medivh was, in fact, the man who had brought the orcs into Azeroth, and uncovered his plans of murder and deceit. This shook Garona to the core, and while at first she thought it to be a misfire of the spell, she eventually realized that Medivh was indeed the one who had opened the doorway for the orcs. After a short battle with Medivh, where Khadgar used his powers to summon a vision of Aegwynn that distracted the magus, the two escaped and made their way to former kingdom of Azeroth. Despite a small interruption in their journey, they eventually met up with Lord Anduin Lothar. They told their story to Lothar and King Llane Wrynn of Azeroth, but Llane could not believe it was true. Despite Llane's skepticism, it was Lothar who realized that the Magus had truly gone insane, and at his suggestion, a small raiding party was gathered to confront Medivh in Karazhan. Later that very evening, Garona donned the colors of Azeroth at Lothar's request, and joined the party as they set out via gryphons to the tower. After searching about the tower, they came across a hidden passageway, leading into the very mirror image of the tower itself, where Medivh's second shadow Sargeras dwelled. It was also at this time that both Garona and Khadgar witnessed something that would forever change the half-orc. Karazhan presented Garona with a vision of her future, where her present-self was forced to watch in horror as her future self murdered King Llane during the siege against Stormwind. For a while, Garona was terrified of what she knew would eventually come to pass. Llane was one of the few people in her life who had treated her with kindness and she did not want to kill him. Khadgar finally snapped her out of her state of shock and forced her to focus on the more important matter at hand. He told her that if the vision was true, then it meant they would both get out of Karazhan alive (since Khadgar had previously seen a vision of his own future as well), and that if it was false then she could die taking comfort in the knowledge that she wasn't destined to betray King Llane. Eventually, they found Medivh, who unleashed all the powers bestowed upon him by the Order of Tirisfal and the demon lord Sargeras. Garona, now boiling with anger at Medivh's betrayal and perhaps hoping to die rather than live out the vision she had seen, attacked the magus head on, only to be struck down by a powerful spell. Medivh expressed disappointment in Garona, telling her that he had hoped she of all people would understand what he was going through and not oppose him. Feeling little remorse for the half-orc, he then cast a second spell, filling her mind with the doubts and divisions that he himself had carried. She fell to the floor, incapacitated. Moments later, after much, much conflict, Medivh was finally slain by Khadgar. While he was probing Medivh's mind, Gul'dan slipped into a coma when Medivh was killed. But Garona was nowhere to be found. Assassination of Llane Soon after, Garona became a trusted confidant to King Llane, but because of Medivh's mind games, she was unable to form a true allegiance. She reported to King Llane the inner workings of the Horde and how he could use it to his advantage. After her 'release' by orc forces during a raid on Northshire Abbey, she was ordered (presumably by the Shadow Council) to kill King Llane. Realizing that her vision had become a reality, she reluctantly carried out this task, and with a deep sadness, murdered Llane, cutting his heart out. Immediately, Orgrim Doomhammer used the situation to his advantage, killing Blackhand and seizing the mantle of Warchief. His spies found Garona, and (allegedly) tortured her, almost to death, until she finally revealed the secret location of the Shadow Council. The Council was destroyed, and the Warlocks slain. Sudden Disappearance from Warcraft III In early release information related to Warcraft III, including private demonstrations to the media, it was mentioned that Garona was intended to play a major role in the main campaign, likening her importance to that of Thrall himself. In April 27, 2000, IGN.com interviewed Rob Pardo about the up-and-coming Warcraft III. In this interview, Garona is mentioned as a playable hero unit, but by the game's release in 2002, she is strangely missing. IGNPC: Does that carry on with single player as well? RP: Single player will be different. We're going to push the story and role playing aspects even more. So there will be your heroic named characters, like Thrall Warcraft Adventures and Garona [a half-orc assassin) and characters that you'll play. Characters that will be more persistent. IGNPC: So how does Gorona work in the game? Is she separate from the hero units? RP: She will be represented as a hero, but as a unique hero. IGNPC: Does she have special abilities that the other heroes don't? RP: She'll be treated as a unique, so she's a unique hero and will have some abilities that are similar to other heroes or units, and then she might have a couple of unique abilities. Kind of like Kerrigan in Starcraft. The complete interview is available at IGN.com. Additional information can be found at Gamespot. Current Wherabouts Garona's current fate remains unknown, although she was seen in Ravenholdt Manor, the guild of assassins, during World of Warcraft closed beta, with the title of "Grand Master of the Assassin's Guild" -- which suggests that Garona survived Doomhammer's wrath. The NPC was removed later on and has not reappeared since. She is possibly being reserved for a special storyline in a future content patch following the release of the expansion pack. It is likely more will be revealed about Garona with the release of the Burning Crusade, where players will once again return to Outland. Since the draenei are now a playable race, and Khadgar will return, Garona would fit in quite well. Fun Facts *Garona's full name is Garona Halforcen. *She considered Khadgar, Lothar and Llane to be her only human friends. *In-game, her name appears on the rogue quest item book: Garona: A Study on Stealth and Treachery (Thottbot) *In-game, Malyfous Darkhammer, a member of the Thorium Brotherhood, notes that the Breastplate of Bloodthirst is Garona's trademark chestpiece (as seen in the render above). He offers players a replica of the breastplate, given a certain amount of materials. Memorable Quotes "Never better. Needed a little exercise. This whelp was kind enough to oblige." "Yes, suprisingly, I can read..." "Human languages are a bit...wordy," "Let's just say I've been having a problem with divided loyalties." "I'm going to kill him. He treated me well, and listened when I talked, and I'm going to kill him. No." Sources * Lunarfalls.com * The Last Guardian Halforcen Halforcen Halforcen Halforcen Halforcen Halforcen